Memory command verification

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and devices for performing memory command verification are described. A system may include a memory device and a memory controller, which may be external (e.g., a host device). The memory device may receive, from the memory controller, a command indicating a type of operation and an address. The memory device may decode the command and execute an operation (e.g., the operation corresponding to the decoded command) at an execution location on the memory device. The system (e.g., the memory device or the memory controller) may determine whether the executed operation and execution location match the type of operation and address indicated in the command, and the system may thereby determine an error associated with the decoding, the execution, or both of the command.

CROSS REFERENCE

The present Application for Patent claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/746,274 by Schaefer et al., entitled “MEMORYCOMMAND VERIFICATION,” filed Oct. 16, 2018, which is assigned to theassignee hereof and is expressly incorporated by reference in itsentirety herein.

BACKGROUND

The following relates generally to a system that includes at least onememory device and more specifically to memory command verification.

Memory devices are widely used to store information in variouselectronic devices such as computers, wireless communication devices,cameras, digital displays, and the like. Information is stored byprograming different states of a memory device. For example, binarydevices most often store one of two states, often denoted by a logic 1or a logic 0. In other devices, more than two states may be stored. Toaccess the stored information, a component of the device may read, orsense, at least one stored state in the memory device. To storeinformation, a component of the device may write, or program, the statein the memory device.

Types of memory devices include magnetic hard disks, random accessmemory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronousdynamic RAM (SDRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM),resistive RAM (RRAM), flash memory, phase change memory (PCM), andothers. Memory devices may be volatile or non-volatile. Non-volatilememory, e.g., FeRAM, may maintain their stored logic state for extendedperiods of time even in the absence of an external power source.Volatile memory devices, e.g., DRAM, SRAM, may lose their stored statewhen disconnected from an external power source. Dynamic memory devices,e.g., DRAM, SDRAM, may lose a stored state over time unless they areperiodically refreshed.

In some cases, an external memory controller may communicate commands toa memory device. The command may indicate a type of instruction to beexecuted at a given location on the memory device. Improving reliabilityfor executing commands at a memory device may be desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system that supports memory commandverification as disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a memory sub-array that supports memorycommand verification as disclosed herein.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate examples of systems that support memory commandverification as disclosed herein.

FIGS. 5 through 7 illustrate examples of timing diagrams that supportmemory command verification as disclosed herein.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate block diagrams for apparatuses that supportmemory command verification as disclosed herein.

FIGS. 10 through 13 illustrate a method or methods that support memorycommand verification as disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Memory devices may operate under various conditions as part ofelectronic apparatuses such as personal computers, wirelesscommunication devices, servers, internet-of-things (IoT) devices,electronic components of automotive vehicles, and the like. In somecases, memory devices supporting applications for certainimplementations (e.g., automotive vehicles, in some cases withautonomous or semi-autonomous driving capabilities) may be subject toincreased reliability constraints. As such, memory devices (e.g., DRAM)for some applications may be expected to operate with a reliabilitysubject to relatively higher industry specifications (e.g., higherreliability constraints).

Some memory systems may include a host device (e.g., an external memorycontroller) which may transmit access commands (e.g., for a readoperation, a write operation, a refresh operation) to a memory device.The memory device may receive the command from the host device anddecode the command to determine an access instruction and an address(e.g., the access instruction indicating a type of access operation tobe performed at the address of the memory device). The memory device mayexecute the access instruction at an execution address based on thedecoded command. In some systems, the host device may not be able todetermine errors associated with decoding and/or executing the command.For example, the memory device may determine (and execute) a type ofaccess operation that is different than the type of access operationindicated by the command. Additionally or alternatively, the memorydevice may determine and/or execute the access operation at an addressthat is different than the address indicated by the command. A failureto detect such errors by the host device may negatively affect thereliability of the system.

Techniques for memory command verification are described. For example,the system may compare the access instruction and address included inthe command to the executed access instruction and execution address todetermine errors associated with the decoding and/or the execution ofthe command (e.g., whether any such error occurs). Determining errorsassociated with a specific command may allow the host device toretransmit commands not executed properly, thus increasing thereliability of the system. In some cases, the memory device may comparethe executed access instruction and execution address to the command andtransmit an indication relating to the comparison to the host device. Insome other cases, the host device may compare the executed accessinstruction and execution address to the command.

Features of the disclosure are initially described in the context ofmemory systems and a memory device with reference to FIGS. 1-4. Featuresof the disclosure are described in the context of process flows withreference to FIGS. 5-7. These and other features of the disclosure arefurther illustrated by and described with reference to apparatusdiagrams and flowcharts in FIGS. 8-13 that relate to memory commandverification.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system 100 that utilizes one or morememory devices in accordance with aspects disclosed herein. The system100 may include an external memory controller 105, a memory device 110,and a plurality of channels 115 coupling the external memory controller105 with the memory device 110. The system 100 may include one or morememory devices, but for ease of description the one or more memorydevices may be described as a single memory device 110.

The system 100 may include aspects of an electronic device, such as acomputing device, a mobile computing device, a wireless device, or agraphics processing device. The system 100 may be an example of aportable electronic device. The system 100 may be an example of acomputer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, a cellularphone, a wearable device, an internet-connected device, or the like. Thememory device 110 may be component of the system configured to storedata for one or more other components of the system 100. In someexamples, the system 100 is configured for bi-directional wirelesscommunication with other systems or devices using a base station oraccess point. In some examples, the system 100 is capable ofmachine-type communication (MTC), machine-to-machine (M2M)communication, or device-to-device (D2D) communication.

At least portions of the system 100 may be examples of a host device.Such a host device may be an example of a device that uses memory toexecute processes such as a computing device, a mobile computing device,a wireless device, a graphics processing device, a computer, a laptopcomputer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, a cellular phone, a wearabledevice, an internet-connected device, some other stationary or portableelectronic device, or the like. In some examples, system 100 is agraphics card. In some cases, the host device may refer to the hardware,firmware, software, or a combination thereof that implements thefunctions of the external memory controller 105. In some cases, theexternal memory controller 105 may be referred to as a host or hostdevice. The external memory controller 105 may communicate accesscommands to a memory device 110 indicating a type of operation (e.g., aread operation, a refresh operation, a write operation) to be executedat a memory array 170 at a location indicated by an address of thecommand. In some cases, the external memory controller 105 may beconfigured to detect errors associated with decoding and/or executingthe access command at the memory device 110. In some examples, thememory device 110 may indicate the error to the external memorycontroller 105. In some other examples, the memory device 110 maytransmit information related to the decoding and/or execution of theaccess command to enable the external memory controller 105 to detectthe error.

In some cases, the memory device 110 may be an independent device orcomponent that is configured to be in communication with othercomponents of the system 100 and provide physical memory addresses/spaceto potentially be used or referenced by the system 100. In someexamples, a memory device 110 may be configurable to work with at leastone or a plurality of different types of systems 100. Signaling betweenthe components of the system 100 and the memory device 110 may beoperable to support modulation schemes to modulate the signals,different pin designs for communicating the signals, distinct packagingof the system 100 and the memory device 110, clock signaling andsynchronization between the system 100 and the memory device 110, timingconventions, and/or other factors.

The memory device 110 may be configured to store data for the componentsof the system 100. In some cases, the memory device 110 may act as aslave-type device to the system 100 (e.g., responding to and executingcommands provided by the system 100 through the external memorycontroller 105). Such commands may include an access command for anaccess operation, such as a write command for a write operation, a readcommand for a read operation, a refresh command for a refresh operation,or other commands. The memory device 110 may include two or more memorydice 160 (e.g., memory chips) to support a desired or specified capacityfor data storage. The memory device 110 including two or more memorydice may be referred to as a multi-die memory or package (also referredto as multi-chip memory or package).

The system 100 may further include a processor 120, a basic input/outputsystem (BIOS) component 125, one or more peripheral components 130, andan input/output (I/O) controller 135. The components of system 100 maybe in electronic communication with one another using a bus 140.

The processor 120 may be configured to control at least portions of thesystem 100. The processor 120 may be a general-purpose processor, adigital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or it may be a combination of these types ofcomponents. In such cases, the processor 120 may be an example of acentral processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), ageneral purpose GPU (GPGPU), or a system on a chip (SoC), among otherexamples.

The BIOS component 125 may be a software component that includes a BIOSoperated as firmware, which may initialize and run various hardwarecomponents of the system 100. The BIOS component 125 may also managedata flow between the processor 120 and the various components of thesystem 100, e.g., the peripheral components 130, the I/O controller 135,etc. The BIOS component 125 may include a program or software stored inread-only memory (ROM), flash memory, or any other non-volatile memory.

The peripheral component(s) 130 may be any input device or outputdevice, or an interface for such devices, that may be integrated into orwith the system 100. Examples may include disk controllers, soundcontroller, graphics controller, Ethernet controller, modem, universalserial bus (USB) controller, a serial or parallel port, or peripheralcard slots, such as peripheral component interconnect (PCI) oraccelerated graphics port (AGP) slots. The peripheral component(s) 130may be other components understood by those skilled in the art asperipherals.

The I/O controller 135 may manage data communication between theprocessor 120 and the peripheral component(s) 130, input devices 145, oroutput devices 150. The I/O controller 135 may manage peripherals thatare not integrated into or with the system 100. In some cases, the I/Ocontroller 135 may represent a physical connection or port to externalperipheral components.

The input 145 may represent a device or signal external to the system100 that provides information, signals, or data to the system 100 or itscomponents. This may include a user interface or interface with orbetween other devices. In some cases, the input 145 may be a peripheralthat interfaces with system 100 via one or more peripheral components130 or may be managed by the I/O controller 135.

The output 150 may represent a device or signal external to the system100 configured to receive an output from the system 100 or any of itscomponents. Examples of the output 150 may include a display, audiospeakers, a printing device, or another processor on printed circuitboard, and so forth. In some cases, the output 150 may be a peripheralthat interfaces with the system 100 via one or more peripheralcomponents 130 or may be managed by the I/O controller 135.

The components of system 100 may be made up of general-purpose orspecial purpose circuitry designed to carry out their functions. Thismay include various circuit elements, for example, conductive lines,transistors, capacitors, inductors, resistors, amplifiers, or otheractive or passive elements, configured to carry out the functionsdescribed herein.

The memory device 110 may include a device memory controller 155 and oneor more memory dice 160. Each memory die 160 may include a local memorycontroller 165 (e.g., local memory controller 165-a, local memorycontroller 165-b, and/or local memory controller 165-N) and a memoryarray 170 (e.g., memory array 170-a, memory array 170-b, and/or memoryarray 170-N). A memory array 170 may be a collection (e.g., a grid) ofmemory cells, with each memory cell being configured to store at leastone bit of digital data. One or more memory arrays 170 may include a rowaccess logic component and a column access logic component. The row andcolumn access logic components may determine a subset of the memoryarray 170 accessed during an access operation indicated by the externalmemory controller 105. In some examples, the subset of the memory array170 may indicate the subset along one or more dimensions of the array.The memory array 170 may indicate the subset to a device memorycontroller 155, a local memory controller 165, the external memorycontroller 105, or a verifier component (e.g., as discussed in moredetail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4). The system may compare thesubset to an address indicated by the access operation in order todetect errors associated with decoding and/or executing the accesscommand. Features of memory arrays 170 and/or memory cells are describedin more detail with reference to FIG. 2.

The memory device 110 may be an example of a two-dimensional (2D) arrayof memory cells or may be an example of a three-dimensional (3D) arrayof memory cells. For example, a 2D memory device may include a singlememory die 160. A 3D memory device may include two or more memory dice160 (e.g., memory die 160-a, memory die 160-b, and/or any number ofmemory dice 160-N). In a 3D memory device, a plurality of memory dice160-N may be stacked on top of one another. In some cases, memory dice160-N in a 3D memory device may be referred to as decks, levels, layers,or dies. A 3D memory device may include any quantity of stacked memorydice 160-N (e.g., two high, three high, four high, five high, six high,seven high, eight high). This may increase the number of memory cellsthat may be positioned on a substrate as compared with a single 2Dmemory device, which in turn may reduce production costs or increase theperformance of the memory array, or both. In some 3D memory device,different decks may share at least one common access line such that somedecks may share at least one of a word line, a digit line, and/or aplate line.

The device memory controller 155 may include circuits or componentsconfigured to control operation of the memory device 110. As such, thedevice memory controller 155 may include the hardware, firmware, andsoftware that enables the memory device 110 to perform commands and maybe configured to receive, transmit, or execute commands, data, orcontrol information related to the memory device 110. The device memorycontroller 155 may be configured to communicate with the external memorycontroller 105, the one or more memory dice 160, or the processor 120.In some cases, the memory device 110 may receive data and/or commandsfrom the external memory controller 105. For example, the memory device110 may receive a write command indicating that the memory device 110 isto store certain data on behalf of a component of the system 100 (e.g.,the processor 120) or a read command indicating that the memory device110 is to provide certain data stored in a memory die 160 to a componentof the system 100 (e.g., the processor 120). In some cases, the devicememory controller 155 may control operation of the memory device 110described herein in conjunction with the local memory controller 165 ofthe memory die 160. Examples of the components included in the devicememory controller 155 and/or the local memory controllers 165 mayinclude receivers for demodulating signals received from the externalmemory controller 105, decoders for modulating and transmitting signalsto the external memory controller 105, logic, decoders, amplifiers,filters, or the like.

The local memory controller 165 (e.g., local to a memory die 160) may beconfigured to control operations of the memory die 160. Also, the localmemory controller 165 may be configured to communicate (e.g., receiveand transmit data and/or commands) with the device memory controller155. The local memory controller 165 may support the device memorycontroller 155 to control operation of the memory device 110 asdescribed herein. In some cases, the memory device 110 does not includethe device memory controller 155, and the local memory controller 165 orthe external memory controller 105 may perform the various functionsdescribed herein. As such, the local memory controller 165 may beconfigured to communicate with the device memory controller 155, withother local memory controllers 165, or directly with the external memorycontroller 105 or the processor 120.

The external memory controller 105 may be configured to enablecommunication of information, data, and/or commands between componentsof the system 100 (e.g., the processor 120) and the memory device 110.The external memory controller 105 may act as a liaison between thecomponents of the system 100 and the memory device 110 so that thecomponents of the system 100 may not need to know the details of thememory device's operation. The components of the system 100 may presentrequests to the external memory controller 105 (e.g., read commands orwrite commands) that the external memory controller 105 satisfies. Theexternal memory controller 105 may convert or translate communicationsexchanged between the components of the system 100 and the memory device110. In some cases, the external memory controller 105 may include asystem clock that generates a common (source) system clock signal. Insome cases, the external memory controller 105 may include a common dataclock that generates a common (source) data clock signal.

In some cases, the external memory controller 105 or other component ofthe system 100, or its functions described herein, may be implemented bythe processor 120. For example, the external memory controller 105 maybe hardware, firmware, or software, or some combination thereofimplemented by the processor 120 or other component of the system 100.While the external memory controller 105 is depicted as being externalto the memory device 110, in some cases, the external memory controller105, or its functions described herein, may be implemented by a memorydevice 110. For example, the external memory controller 105 may behardware, firmware, or software, or some combination thereof implementedby the device memory controller 155 or one or more local memorycontrollers 165. In some cases, the external memory controller 105 maybe distributed across the processor 120 and the memory device 110 suchthat portions of the external memory controller 105 are implemented bythe processor 120 and other portions are implemented by a device memorycontroller 155 or a local memory controller 165. Likewise, in somecases, one or more functions ascribed herein to the device memorycontroller 155 or local memory controller 165 may in some cases beperformed by the external memory controller 105 (either separate from oras included in the processor 120).

The components of the system 100 may exchange information with thememory device 110 using a plurality of channels 115. In some examples,the channels 115 may enable communications between the external memorycontroller 105 and the memory device 110. Each channel 115 may includeone or more signal paths or transmission mediums (e.g., conductors)between terminals associated with the components of system 100. Forexample, a channel 115 may include a first terminal including one ormore pins or pads at external memory controller 105 and one or more pinsor pads at the memory device 110. A pin may be an example of aconductive input or output point of a device of the system 100, and apin may be configured to act as part of a channel. In some cases, a pinor pad of a terminal may be part of to a signal path of the channel 115.Additional signal paths may be coupled with a terminal of a channel forrouting signals within a component of the system 100. For example, thememory device 110 may include signal paths (e.g., signal paths internalto the memory device 110 or its components, such as internal to a memorydie 160) that route a signal from a terminal of a channel 115 to thevarious components of the memory device 110 (e.g., a device memorycontroller 155, memory dice 160, local memory controllers 165, memoryarrays 170).

Channels 115 (and associated signal paths and terminals) may bededicated to communicating specific types of information. In some cases,a channel 115 may be an aggregated channel and thus may include multipleindividual channels. For example, a data channel 190 may be ×4 (e.g.,including four signal paths), ×8 (e.g., including eight signal paths),×16 (including sixteen signal paths), and so forth.

In some cases, the channels 115 may include one or more command andaddress (CA) channels 186. The CA channels 186 may be configured tocommunicate commands between the external memory controller 105 and thememory device 110 including control information associated with thecommands (e.g., address information). For example, the CA channel 186may include a read command with an address of the desired data. In somecases, the CA channels 186 may be registered on a rising clock signaledge and/or a falling clock signal edge. In some cases, a CA channel 186may include eight or nine signal paths.

In some cases, the channels 115 may include one or more clock signal(CK) channels 188. The CK channels 188 may be configured to communicateone or more common clock signals between the external memory controller105 and the memory device 110. Each clock signal may be configured tooscillate between a high state and a low state and coordinate theactions of the external memory controller 105 and the memory device 110.In some cases, the clock signal may be a differential output (e.g., aCK_t signal and a CK_c signal) and the signal paths of the CK channels188 may be configured accordingly. In some cases, the clock signal maybe single ended. In some cases, the clock signal may be a 1.5 GHzsignal. A CK channel 188 may include any number of signal paths. In somecases, the clock signal CK (e.g., a CK_t signal and a CK_c signal) mayprovide a timing reference for command and addressing operations for thememory device 110, or other system-wide operations for the memory device110. The clock signal CK therefore may be variously referred to as acontrol clock signal CK, a command clock signal CK, or a system clocksignal CK. The system clock signal CK may be generated by a systemclock, which may include one or more hardware components (e.g.,oscillators, crystals, logic gates, transistors, or the like).

In some cases, the channels 115 may include one or more data (DQ)channels 190. The data channels 190 may be configured to communicatedata and/or control information between the external memory controller105 and the memory device 110. For example, the data channels 190 maycommunicate information (e.g., bi-directional) to be written to thememory device 110 or information read from the memory device 110. Thedata channels 190 may communicate signals that may be modulated using avariety of different modulation schemes (e.g., NRZ, PAM4).

In some cases, the channels 115 may include one or more other channels192 that may be dedicated to other purposes. These other channels 192may include any number of signal paths.

In some cases, the other channels 192 may include one or more writeclock signal (WCK) channels. While the ‘W’ in WCK may nominally standfor “write,” a write clock signal WCK (e.g., a WCK_t signal and a WCK_csignal) may provide a timing reference for access operations generallyfor the memory device 110 (e.g., a timing reference for both read andwrite operations). Accordingly, the write clock signal WCK may also bereferred to as a data clock signal WCK. The WCK channels may beconfigured to communicate a common data clock signal between theexternal memory controller 105 and the memory device 110. The data clocksignal may be configured to coordinate an access operation (e.g., awrite operation or read operation) of the external memory controller 105and the memory device 110. In some cases, the write clock signal may bea differential output (e.g., a WCK_t signal and a WCK_c signal) and thesignal paths of the WCK channels may be configured accordingly. A WCKchannel may include any number of signal paths. The data clock signalWCK may be generated by a data clock, which may include one or morehardware components (e.g., oscillators, crystals, logic gates,transistors, or the like).

In some cases, the other channels 192 may include one or more errordetection code (EDC) channels. The EDC channels may be configured tocommunicate error detection signals, such as checksums, to improvesystem reliability. An EDC channel may include any number of signalpaths.

The channels 115 may couple the external memory controller 105 with thememory device 110 using a variety of different architectures. Examplesof the various architectures may include a bus, a point-to-pointconnection, a crossbar, a high-density interposer such as a siliconinterposer, or channels formed in an organic substrate or somecombination thereof. For example, in some cases, the signal paths may atleast partially include a high-density interposer, such as a siliconinterposer or a glass interposer.

Signals communicated over the channels 115 may be modulated using avariety of different modulation schemes. In some cases, a binary-symbol(or binary-level) modulation scheme may be used to modulate signalscommunicated between the external memory controller 105 and the memorydevice 110. A binary-symbol modulation scheme may be an example of anM-ary modulation scheme where M is equal to two. Each symbol of abinary-symbol modulation scheme may be configured to represent one bitof digital data (e.g., a symbol may represent a logic 1 or a logic 0).Examples of binary-symbol modulation schemes include, but are notlimited to, non-return-to-zero (NRZ), unipolar encoding, bipolarencoding, Manchester encoding, pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) havingtwo symbols (e.g., PAM2), and/or others.

In some cases, a multi-symbol (or multi-level) modulation scheme may beused to modulate signals communicated between the external memorycontroller 105 and the memory device 110. A multi-symbol modulationscheme may be an example of an M-ary modulation scheme where M isgreater than or equal to three. Each symbol of a multi-symbol modulationscheme may be configured to represent more than one bit of digital data(e.g., a symbol may represent a logic 00, a logic 01, a logic 10, or alogic 11). Examples of multi-symbol modulation schemes include, but arenot limited to, PAM4, PAM8, etc., quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM),quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), and/or others. A multi-symbolsignal or a PAM4 signal may be a signal that is modulated using amodulation scheme that includes at least three levels to encode morethan one bit of information. Multi-symbol modulation schemes and symbolsmay alternatively be referred to as non-binary, multi-bit, orhigher-order modulation schemes and symbols.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a memory sub-array 200 in accordancewith various examples of the present disclosure. The memory sub-array200 may be an example of at least a portion of the memory dice 160described with reference to FIG. 1. In some cases, the memory sub-array200 may be referred to as a memory die, memory chip, a memory device, oran electronic memory apparatus. For example, a memory device such as amemory chip may include multiple instances of sub-array 200, withadditional row, address, bank, or bank group decoding used to select oneor more sub-arrays from the multiple instances for access operations.The memory sub-array 200 may include one or more memory cells 205 thatare programmable to store different logic states. Each memory cell 205may be programmable to store two or more states. For example, the memorycell 205 may be configured to store one bit of digital logic at a time(e.g., a logic 0 and a logic 1). In some cases, a single memory cell 205(e.g., a multi-level memory cell) may be configured to store more thanone bit of digit logic at a time (e.g., a logic 00, logic 01, logic 10,or a logic 11).

A memory cell 205 may store a charge representative of the programmablestates in a capacitor. DRAM architectures may include a capacitor thatincludes a dielectric material to store a charge representative of theprogrammable state. In other memory architectures, other storage devicesand components are possible. For example, nonlinear dielectric materialsmay be employed.

Operations such as reading and writing may be performed on memory cells205 by activating or selecting access lines such as a word line 210and/or a digit line 215. In some cases, digit lines 215 may also bereferred to as bit lines. References to access lines, word lines anddigit lines, or their analogues, are interchangeable without loss ofunderstanding or operation. Activating or selecting a word line 210 or adigit line 215 may include applying a voltage to the respective line orconfiguring a multiplexer to map the line to a given signal.

The memory sub-array 200 may include the access lines (e.g., the wordlines 210 and the digit lines 215) arranged in a grid-like pattern.Memory cells 205 may be positioned at intersections of the word lines210 and the digit lines 215. By biasing a word line 210 (e.g., applyinga voltage to the word line 210), a memory cell 205 may be accessed viathe digit line 215 at their intersection.

Accessing the memory cells 205 may be controlled through a row decoder220 or a column decoder 225. For example, a row decoder 220 may receivea row address from the local memory controller 260 and activate a wordline 210 based on the received row address. A column decoder 225 mayreceive a column address from the local memory controller 260 and mayselect a digit line 215 based on the received column address. Forexample, the memory sub-array 200 may include multiple word lines 210,labeled WL_1 through WL_M, and multiple digit lines 215, labeled DL_1through DL_N, where M and N depend on the size of the memory array.Thus, by activating a word line 210, e.g., WL_1, the memory cells 205 ina given row may be accessed. The digit lines 215 (e.g., DL_1, . . . , DLN) carry the data for writing or reading from the memory cells in therow. The intersection of a word line 210 and a digit line 215, in eithera two-dimensional or three-dimensional configuration, may be referred toas an address of a memory cell 205.

The memory cell 205 may include a logic storage component, such ascapacitor 230 and a switching component 235. The capacitor 230 may be anexample of a dielectric capacitor or a ferroelectric capacitor. A firstnode of the capacitor 230 may be coupled with the switching component235 and a second node of the capacitor 230 may be coupled with a voltagesource 240. In some cases, the voltage source 240 may be the cell platereference voltage, such as Vpl, or may be ground, such as Vss. In somecases, the voltage source 240 may be an example of a plate line coupledwith a plate line driver. The switching component 235 may be an exampleof a transistor or any other type of switch device that selectivelyestablishes or de-establishes electronic communication between twocomponents.

Selecting or deselecting the memory cell 205 may be accomplished byactivating or deactivating the switching component 235. The capacitor230 may be in electronic communication with the digit line 215 using theswitching component 235. For example, the capacitor 230 may be isolatedfrom digit line 215 when the switching component 235 is deactivated, andthe capacitor 230 may be coupled with digit line 215 when the switchingcomponent 235 is activated. In some cases, the switching component 235is a transistor and its operation may be controlled by applying avoltage to the transistor gate, where the voltage differential betweenthe transistor gate and transistor source may be greater or less than athreshold voltage of the transistor. In some cases, the switchingcomponent 235 may be a p-type transistor or an n-type transistor. Theword line 210 may be in electronic communication with the gate of theswitching component 235 and may activate/deactivate the switchingcomponent 235 based on a voltage being applied to word line 210.

A word line 210 may be a conductive line in electronic communicationwith a memory cell 205 that is used to perform access operations on thememory cell 205. In some architectures, the word line 210 may be inelectronic communication with a gate of a switching component 235 of amemory cell 205 and may be configured to control the switching component235 of the memory cell. In some architectures, the word line 210 may bein electronic communication with a node of the capacitor of the memorycell 205 and the memory cell 205 may not include a switching component.

The memory sub-array 200 may include row access logic 265. The rowaccess logic 265 may be coupled to the word lines 210 or to portions ofrow decoder 220. The row access logic 265 may be configured to determinea word line 210 that is activated during an access operation. In somecases, the row access logic 265 may determine a single word line 210that is activated during the access operation. In some other region, therow access logic 265 may determine a subset of word lines 210 includingthe word line that is activated during the access operation. The rowaccess logic 265 may be configured to transmit an indication of the wordline or lines 210 that are activated during the access operation to acomponent (e.g., a verifier as described herein 235).

A digit line 215 may be a conductive line that connects the memory cell205 with a sense component 245. In some architectures, the memory cell205 may be selectively coupled with the digit line 215 during portionsof an access operation. For example, the word line 210 and the switchingcomponent 235 of the memory cell 205 may be configured to couple and/orisolate the capacitor 230 of the memory cell 205 and the digit line 215.In some architectures, the memory cell 205 may be in electroniccommunication (e.g., constant) with the digit line 215. The memorysub-array 200 may include column access logic 275. The column accesslogic 275 may be coupled to the column decoder 225 or the sensecomponent 245. The column access logic 275 may be configured todetermine a digit line 215 that is selected during an access operation.In some cases, the column access logic 275 may determine a single digitline 215 that is selected during the access operation. In some othercases, the column access logic 275 may determine a subset of digit lines215 that are selected (or that include one or more digit lines that areselected) during the access operation. The column access logic 275 maybe configured to transmit an indication of the digit line or lines 215that are selected during the access operation to a component (e.g., averifier as described herein).

The sense component 245 may be configured to detect a state (e.g., acharge) stored on the capacitor 230 of the memory cell 205 and determinea logic state of the memory cell 205 based on the stored state. Thecharge stored by a memory cell 205 may be extremely small, in somecases. As such, the sense component 245 may include one or more senseamplifiers to amplify the signal output by the memory cell 205. Thesense amplifiers may detect small changes in the charge of a digit line215 during a read operation and may produce signals corresponding to alogic state 0 or a logic state 1 based on the detected charge. During aread operation, the capacitor 230 of memory cell 205 may output a signal(e.g., via charge sharing) to its corresponding digit line 215. Thesignal may cause a voltage of the digit line 215 to change. The sensecomponent 245 may be configured to compare the signal received from thememory cell 205 across the digit line 215 to a reference signal 250(e.g., reference voltage). The sense component 245 may determine thestored state of the memory cell 205 based on the comparison. Forexample, in binary-signaling, if digit line 215 has a higher voltagethan the reference signal 250, the sense component 245 may determinethat the stored state of memory cell 205 is a logic 1 and, if the digitline 215 has a lower voltage than the reference signal 250, the sensecomponent 245 may determine that the stored state of the memory cell 205is a logic 0. The sense component 245 may include amplifiers (e.g.,transistor amplifiers) to detect and amplify a difference in thesignals. The detected logic state of memory cell 205 may be outputthrough column decoder 225 as output 255. In some cases, the aspects ofsense component 245 may be part of another component (e.g., a columndecoder 225, row decoder 220). In some cases, the sense component 245may be in electronic communication with the row decoder 220 or thecolumn decoder 225.

The local memory controller 260 may control the operation of memorycells 205 through the various components (e.g., row decoder 220, columndecoder 225, and sense component 245). The local memory controller 260may be an example of the local memory controller 165 described withreference to FIG. 1. In some cases, aspects of the row decoder 220,column decoder 225, or sense component 245 may be co-located with thelocal memory controller 260. The local memory controller 260 may beconfigured to receive commands and/or data from an external memorycontroller 105 (or a device memory controller 155 described withreference to FIG. 1), translate the commands and/or data intoinformation that can be used by the memory sub-array 200, perform one ormore operations on the memory sub-array 200, and communicate data fromthe memory sub-array 200 to the external memory controller 105 (or thedevice memory controller 155) in response to performing the one or moreoperations. The local memory controller 260 may generate row and columnaddress signals to activate the target word line 210 and select thetarget digit line 215. The local memory controller 260 may also generateand control various voltages or currents used during the operation ofthe memory sub-array 200. In general, the amplitude, shape, or durationof an applied voltage or current discussed herein may be adjusted orvaried and may be different for the various operations discussed inoperating the memory sub-array 200.

In some cases, the local memory controller 260 may be configured toperform a write operation (e.g., a programming operation) on one or morememory cells 205 of the memory sub-array 200. During a write operation,a memory cell 205 of the memory sub-array 200 may be programmed to storea desired logic state. In some cases, a plurality of memory cells 205may be programmed during a single write operation. The local memorycontroller 260 may identify a target memory cell 205 on which to performthe write operation. The local memory controller 260 may identify atarget word line 210 and a target digit line 215 in electroniccommunication with the target memory cell 205 (e.g., the address of thetarget memory cell 205). The local memory controller 260 may activatethe target word line 210 (e.g., applying a voltage to the word line210), to access a row including the target memory cell 205. The localmemory controller 260 may apply a specific signal (e.g., voltage) to thedigit line 215 during the write operation to store a specific state(e.g., charge) in the capacitor 230 of the memory cell 205, the specificstate (e.g., charge) may be indicative of a desired logic state.

The row access logic 265 and the column access logic 275 may determine asubset of the array corresponding to the target memory cell 205. Thatis, the row access logic 265 and the column access logic 275 may beconfigured to determine the word line or lines 210 activated by thewrite operation and the digit line or lines 215 that convey dataassociated with the write operation. The row access logic 265 and thecolumn access logic 275 may transmit an indication of the determinedsubset of the array (e.g., to a verifier as discussed herein). In someexamples, the indication of the subset of the array may indicate thesubset along one or more dimensions of the array. For example, theindication of the subset of the array may indicate the word line orlines 210 being activated during the write operation (e.g., a row matrix(MAT) indication). Additionally or alternatively, the indication of thesubset of the array may indicate the digit line or lines 215 selectedduring the write operation (e.g., a column MAT indication).

In some cases, the local memory controller 260 may be configured toperform a read operation (e.g., a sense operation) on one or more memorycells 205 of the memory sub-array 200. During a read operation, thelogic state stored in a memory cell 205 of the memory sub-array 200 maybe determined. In some cases, a plurality of memory cells 205 may besensed during a single read operation. The local memory controller 260may identify a target memory cell 205 on which to perform the readoperation. The local memory controller 260 may identify a target wordline 210 and a target digit line 215 in electronic communication withthe target memory cell 205 (e.g., the address of the target memory cell205). The local memory controller 260 may activate the target word line210 (e.g., applying a voltage to the word line 210), to access a rowincluding the target memory cell 205. The target memory cell 205 maytransfer a signal to the sense component 245 in response to biasing theaccess lines. The sense component 245 may amplify the signal. The localmemory controller 260 may fire the sense component 245 (e.g., latch thesense component) and thereby compare the signal received from the memorycell 205 to the reference signal 250. Based on that comparison, thesense component 245 may determine a logic state that is stored on thememory cell 205. The local memory controller 260 may communicate thelogic state stored on the memory cell 205 to the external memorycontroller 105 (or the device memory controller 155) as part of the readoperation (e.g., by selecting data read from digit lines 215 usingcolumn decoder 225).

The row access logic 265 and the column access logic 275 may determine asubset of the array corresponding to the target memory cell 205. Thatis, the row access logic 265 and the column access logic 275 may beconfigured to determine the word line or lines 210 activated during theread operation and the digit line or lines 215 carrying the dataassociated with the read operation. The row access logic 265 and thecolumn access logic 275 may transmit an indication of the determinedsubset of the array (e.g., to a verifier as discussed herein). In someexamples, the indication of the subset of the array may indicate thesubset along one or more dimensions of the array. For example, theindication of the subset of the array may indicate the word line orlines 210 being activated during the read operation (e.g., a row MATindication). Additionally or alternatively, the indication of the subsetof the array may indicate the digit line or lines 215 selected duringthe read operation (e.g., a column MAT indication).

In some memory architectures, accessing the memory cell 205 may degradeor destroy the logic state stored in a memory cell 205. For example, aread operation performed in DRAM architectures may partially orcompletely discharge the capacitor of the target memory cell. The localmemory controller 260 may perform a re-write operation or a refreshoperation to return the memory cell to its original logic state. Thelocal memory controller 260 may re-write the logic state to the targetmemory cell after a read operation. In some cases, the re-writeoperation may be considered part of the read operation. Additionally,activating a single access line, such as a word line 210, may disturbthe state stored in some memory cells in electronic communication withthat access line. Thus, a re-write operation or refresh operation may beperformed on one or more memory cells that may not have been accessed.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a system 300 that supports techniquesfor memory command verification for a memory device. The system 300 mayinclude one or more components described herein with reference to FIGS.1 and 2. For example, the system 300 may include a host device 305,which may be an example of the external memory controller 105 asdescribed with reference to FIG. 1; a memory device 310, which may be anexample of the memory device 110, the memory dice 160, or the memorysub-array 200 as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2; and a memoryarray 370, which may be an example of a memory array 170 as describedwith reference to FIG. 1 and may include aspects of memory sub-array 200as described with reference to FIG. 2. The memory device 310 may alsoinclude the memory pins 315, an input buffer 325, and a verifier 345.

Host device 305 may send a command via a channel 320, which may be anexample of a channel 115 or CA channel 186 as discussed with referenceto FIG. 1. The command may include an instruction for an accessoperation (e.g., a read operation, a refresh operation, a writeoperation) at memory array 370 on the memory device 310. The command mayfurther include an address of the memory array 370 targeted by theaccess operation. The address may comprise a row address and a columnaddress corresponding to a row and column(s) of the memory array 370.The memory device 310 may utilize a verifier 345 in order to determine(e.g., identify, detect) errors associated with the transferring,decoding, or execution of the command received from the host device 305.In some cases, determining the errors may improve the reliability of thesystem 300. For example, the host device 305 may retransmit the commandor commands for which the memory device 310 determined an error, or mayotherwise process additional commands to recover from the error.

Upon receiving the command at the memory pins 315, the memory device 310may latch (e.g., capture) the command at the input buffer 325 via bus330. The command may comprise raw pin data detected at the memory pins315 from the channel 320. The memory device 310 may transfer the commandfrom the input buffer 325 to the decoder 335 (e.g., via bus 340), wherethe decoder 335 may attempt to decode the command into an accessinstruction and an address (e.g., the access instruction indicating atype of access operation to be performed at the address of the memoryarray 370). In some cases, there may be an error when the memory device310 transfers the command from the input buffer 325 and/or attempts todecode the command at decoder 335. For example, the command may not betransferred correctly from the input buffer 325 to the decoder 335. Thatis, the raw pin data (e.g., indicating the command) received at thedecoder 335 may not match the data transmitted across channel 320 fromthe host device 305 (e.g., the data received at the input buffer 325).In another example, the decoder 335 may incorrectly decode the commandand therefore may not determine a correct access instruction and/oraddress.

Verifier 345 may be configured to detect such errors. The memory device310 may transmit data corresponding to the access instruction (e.g., asdetermined based on decoding the command) from the decoder 335 to theverifier 345 (e.g., via a bus 380). In some cases, the data may indicatea success (or lack thereof) of decoding the command to determine anaccess instruction. That is, the data may indicate an error resulting inthe decoder 335 not determining a type of access instruction based onthe command (e.g., not successfully decoding the command). For example,the decoder 335 may transmit a logic ‘0’ on the bus 380 in the eventthat an access instruction was determined from the command. Conversely,the decoder 335 may transmit a logic ‘1’ on the bus 380 in the eventthat an access instruction was not determined from the command (e.g.,corresponding to a failed decoding by decoder 335). In some other cases,the data may indicate the type of access instruction determined by thedecoder 335. For example, the decoder 335 may transmit a signal (ormultiple signals) to the verifier 345 that may map to (e.g., identify)the type of access instruction (e.g., a read instruction, a refreshinstruction, a write instruction).

In the case where the decoder 335 transmits the type of accessinstruction to the verifier 345, the verifier 345 may determine if thetype of access instruction determined at the decoder 335 matches a typeof access instruction indicated by the command stored at the inputbuffer 325. Here, the verifier 345 may also receive the command storedat the input buffer 325 (e.g., corresponding to the raw pin datareceived at the memory pins 315) via bus 350. The verifier may decode,by a second decoder 355, the command received from the input buffer 325.In some cases, the decoder 355 may decode the command and determine atype of access instruction (e.g., in a similar manner as decoder 335).The verifier 345 may compare the type of access instruction determinedat the decoder 355 to the type of access instruction determined atdecoder 335 (e.g., by comparator 360). By this method, the verifier 345may determine if there is an error associated with the accessinstruction determined at the decoder 335 (e.g., if the comparator 360determines that the two access instruction types are different).

After decoding the command received from the input buffer 325, thedecoder 335 may subsequently indicate the instruction and the address tothe memory array 370 (e.g., via the bus 385). The memory array 370 mayaccess the memory array 370 at the indicated address and according tothe indicated instruction (e.g., an instruction corresponding to a readoperation, a refresh operation, a write operation). For example, thememory array 370 may include a row decoder and a column decoder (e.g.,as described with reference to FIG. 2) configured to receive an addressfor memory array 370 and activate a word line and select digit linesrespectively based on the received address (e.g., as received from thedecoder 335). The memory array 370 may further include row access logic365 and column access logic 375 configured to determine an accessedportion of the memory array 370 accessed during the execution of theindicated instruction. For example, as described with reference to FIG.2, the row access logic 365 may determine a word line or a set of wordlines accessed by the memory array 370. The word line or word linesaccessed may correspond to an accessed row MAT. Additionally oralternatively, the column access logic 375 may determine a digit line ora set of digit lines accessed by the memory array 370. The digit line ordigit lines accessed may correspond to an accessed column MAT. Theaccessed row MAT and/or the access column MAT may correspond to theaccessed portion of the memory array 370.

There may be an error corresponding to the location of the memory array370 during the access operation. For example, the decoder 335 mayincorrectly decode the command and determine an address for the accesscommand that does not correspond to an address indicated by the commandreceived from the host device 305. In another example, the memory array370 may incorrectly access a word line and/or digit line. For example, arow decoder and/or a column decoder may activate an incorrect word orselect an incorrect digit line (e.g., a different word or digit linethan indicated by the address within the command received from the hostdevice 305).

Verifier 345 may be configured to detect such errors (e.g., via bus390). The memory array 370 may transmit an indication of the accessedportion (e.g., as determined by the row access logic 365 and/or thecolumn access logic 375) to the verifier 345. The indication may includean identifier for the accessed portion (e.g., a row identifier, a columnidentifier, a row MAT identifier, a column MAT identifier). A row MATmay refer to a single word line, a subset of word lines of one or moresub-arrays, a sub-array, or the like. A column MAT may refer to a singledigit line, a subset of digit lines of one or more sub-arrays, asub-array, or the like.

The verifier 345 may receive the command from the input buffer 325. Asdiscussed above, the verifier 345 may utilize a second decoder 355. Insome cases, the second decoder 355 may be different than decoder 335.For example, the decoder 335 may be optimized for decoding speed tosupport timing of various memory operations, while the decoder 355 maybe optimized for robustness. In some cases, decoder 335 may be a customlogic or transistor level circuit, while decoder 355 may be asynthesized logic block (e.g., synthesized from a hardware descriptionlanguage). In some cases, the decoder 335 may use switched logic gateswhile, decoder 355 uses static combinatorial logic gates. In a firstexample, the decoder 355 may decode the command received from the inputbuffer 325 to determine an instruction and an expected address of thememory array 370. In this example, the verifier 345 may compare theexpected address determined at the second decoder 355 to the accessedportion indicated by the memory array 370 (e.g., at comparator 360). Theverifier 345 may determine an error in the event that the accessedportion does not match a portion of the memory array 370 indicated bythe expected address. Here, the memory device 310 may determine that theexecuted command (e.g., executed according to the address determined bythe first decoder 335 which may be different than the address determinedby the second decoder 355 and/or row or column decoders in memory array370) may not have been executed properly.

In a second example, the decoder 355 may map the command received fromthe input buffer 325 to determine an expected portion of the memoryarray 370 containing the address indicated by the command (e.g., withoutdetermining the decoded address itself). That is, the portions of thememory array 370 (e.g., row MAT, column MAT) may be related to aphysical structure of the memory array 370 and may not directlycorrespond to the decoded address. Thus, the decoded address maycorrespond to a logical or virtual address space, while the accessedportion of the memory array 370 may be represented in a physical addressspace. Here, the decoder 355 may map the command to an expected portionof the memory array 370. The expected portion may include an expectedrow MAT, an expected column MAT, or an expected array (e.g., an expectedcolumn MAT and an expected row MAT). In this example, the verifier 345may compare the expected portion determined at the second decoder 355 tothe accessed portion indicated by the memory array 370 (e.g., atcomparator 360). The verifier 345 may determine an error in the eventthat the expected portion determined by the second decoder 355 does notcorrespond to the accessed portion indicated by the memory array 370.Here, the memory device 310 may determine that the executed command maynot have been executed properly.

In the event that memory device 310 detects an error corresponding tothe instruction and/or the location accessed by the instruction, theverifier 345 may indicate the error to the host device 305 (e.g., viabus 395). In some cases, in the event the memory device determines anerror (such as incorrectly decoding the command, failing to decode thecommand, accessing a portion of the memory array 370 that does not matcha portion of the memory array 370 indicated by the command), the memorydevice 310 may indicate the error at the sideband pins 396 (e.g., byactivating a pin by the verifier 345 via bus 395). For example, raisingthe voltage of the pin to a logic ‘1’ may indicate an error occurredduring the execution of the received command while keeping the voltageof the pin at a ground voltage (e.g., a logic ‘0’) may indicate thatmemory device 310 has not detected an error occurring during theexecution of one or more commands. Alternatively, the logic states forthe indication could be inverted from this example.

In another example, the verifier 345 may transmit additional data viabus 395, sideband pins 396, and bus 397. The sideband pins 396 may be aserial bus such that the verifier 345 sends the data serially via thesideband pins 396 and bus 397. The additional data may include the oneor more of a success or failure for decoding the command by decoder 335,the access instruction type determined by the decoder 335, or theaccessed portion of the memory array 370. In some cases, the additionaldata may allow the host device 305 to determine status of the executionof the command at the memory device 310. For example, the host device305 may compare the access instruction type determined by the decoder335 or the accessed portion of the memory array 370 to the intendedinstruction type or address. The host device 305 may process additionalcommands based on the status of execution of the command. For example,the host device 305 may determine to retransmit the command based onreceiving an error indication from the memory device 310. This may allowthe host device 305 to improve reliability of the memory device 310 whencompared to a memory device that does not provide such error feedback.

In some cases, the host device 305 may transmit a stream of commands tothe memory device 310. In this example, the memory device 310 mayconcurrently execute the transmitted commands as well as determineerrors associated with the execution of one or more of the commands.That is, the communications and operations done at the verifier 345 maynot disrupt the operations (e.g., normal memory access operations) ofthe memory device 310. This may allow the memory device 310 to provideadditional feedback to the host device 305 (e.g., increasing reliabilityof the memory device 310) without decreasing (e.g., significantly or atall) read/write speeds of the memory device.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a system 400 that supports techniquesfor memory command verification for a memory device. The system 400 mayinclude one or more components described herein with reference to FIGS.1 and 2. For example, the system 400 may include a host device 405,which may be an example of the external memory controller 105 asdescribed with reference to FIG. 1; a memory device 410, which may be anexample of the memory device 110, the memory dice 160, or the memorysub-array 200 as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2; and a memoryarray 470, which may be an example of a memory array 170 as describedwith reference to FIG. 1 and may include aspects of memory sub-array 200as described with reference to FIG. 2. The memory device 410 may alsoinclude the memory pins 415, and an input buffer 425.

Host device 405 may send a command via a channel 420, which may be anexample of a channel 115 or CA channel 186 as discussed with referenceto FIG. 1. The command may include an instruction for an accessoperation (e.g., a read operation, a write operation) at a memory array470 on the memory device 410. The command may further include an addressof the memory array 470 targeted by the access operation. The addressmay comprise a row address and a column address corresponding to a rowand column at the memory array 470. The memory device 410 may indicate,to the host device 405, information related to a decoding of the commandand/or information related to a portion of the memory array 470 accessedduring an execution of the command. The indicated information may allowhost device 405 to determine errors associated with transferring,decoding, and/or executing the command received from the host device405. In some cases, determining the errors may improve the reliabilityof the system 400. For example, the host device 305 may retransmit thecommand or commands for which the host device 405 determined an error,or may otherwise process additional commands to recover from the error.

Upon receiving the command at the memory pins 415, the memory device 410may latch the command at the input buffer 425 via bus 430. The commandmay comprise raw pin data detected at the memory pins 415 from the bus420. The memory device 410 may transfer the command from the inputbuffer 425 to the decoder 435 (e.g., via bus 440), where the decoder 435may attempt to decode the command into an access instruction and anaddress (e.g., the access instruction indicating a type of accessoperation to be performed at the address of the memory array 470). Insome cases, there may be an error when the memory device 410 transfersthe command from the input buffer 425 and/or attempts to decode thecommand at decoder 435. For example, the command may not be transferredcorrectly from the input buffer 425 to the decoder 435. That is, the rawpin data (e.g., indicating the command) received at the decoder 435 maynot match the data transmitted across channel 420 from the host device405 (e.g., the data received at the input buffer 425). In anotherexample, the decoder 435 may incorrectly decode the command andtherefore may not determine a correct access instruction and/or address.

The memory device 410 may transmit data corresponding to the accessinstruction (e.g., as determined based on decoding the command) from thedecoder 435 to the sideband pins 496 (e.g., via a bus 480). The sidebandpins 496 may be a serial bus such that the decoder 435 sends the dataserially via the sideband pins 496 and bus 497. In some cases, the datamay indicate a success (or lack thereof) of decoding the command todetermine an access instruction. That is, the data may indicate an errorresulting in the decoder 435 not determining a valid type of accessinstruction based on the command (e.g., not successfully decoding thecommand) or not determining a valid address from the command. Forexample, the decoder 435 may transmit a logic ‘0’ on the bus 480 in theevent that an access instruction and valid address was determined fromthe command. Conversely, the decoder 435 may transmit a logic ‘1’ on thebus 480 in the event that an access instruction was not determined fromthe command (e.g., corresponding to a failed decoding by decoder 435).Alternatively the logic states for successfully decoding the command maybe inverted. In some other cases, the data may indicate the type ofaccess instruction determined by the decoder 435. For example, thedecoder 435 may transmit a bit (or a series of bits) to the sidebandpins 496 that may map to the type of access instruction (e.g., a readinstruction, a write instruction).

In the case where the decoder 435 transmits the type of accessinstruction to the sideband pins 496, the host device 405 may determineif the type of access instruction determined at the decoder 435 matchesa type of access instruction indicated by the command transmitted by thehost device 405. Here, the host device 405 may receive an indication ofthe type of access command determined at the decoder 435. The hostdevice 405 may compare the type of access instruction indicated via thesideband pins 496 to the type of access instruction indicated by thecommand transmitted by the host device 405. By this method, the hostdevice 405 may determine if there is an error associated with the accessinstruction determined at the decoder 435.

After decoding the command received from the input buffer 425, thedecoder 435 may subsequently indicate the instruction and the address tothe memory array 470 (e.g., via the bus 485). The memory array 470 maybe accessed at the indicated address and according to the indicatedinstruction (e.g., an instruction corresponding to a read operation, awrite operation). For example, the memory array 470 may include a rowdecoder and a column decoder (e.g., as described with reference to FIG.2) configured to receive an address for memory array 470 and activate aword line and select digit lines respectively based on the receivedaddress (e.g., as received from the decoder 435). The memory array 470may further include row access logic 465 and column access logic 475configured to determine an accessed portion of the memory array 470accessed during the execution of the indicated instruction. For example,as described with reference to FIG. 2, the row access logic 465 maydetermine a word line or a set of word lines accessed by the memoryarray 470. The word line or word lines accessed may correspond to anaccessed row MAT. Additionally or alternatively, the column access logic475 may determine a digit line or a set of digit lines accessed by thememory array 470. The digit line or digit lines accessed may correspondto an accessed column MAT. The accessed row MAT and/or the access columnMAT may correspond to the accessed portion of the memory array 470.

There may be an error corresponding to the location of the memory array470 during the access operation. For example, the decoder 435 mayincorrectly decode the command and determine an address for the accesscommand that does not correspond to an address indicated by the commandreceived from the host device 405. In another example, the memory array470 may incorrectly access a word line and/or digit line. For example, arow decoder and/or a column decoder may activate an incorrect word lineor select incorrect digit lines (e.g., a different word or digit linethan indicated by the address within the command received from the host405).

The memory device 410 may transmit (e.g., via bus 490, sideband pins496, and bus 497) information related to the accessed portion of thememory array 470 to enable the host device 405 to determine such errors.The memory device 410 may transmit an indication of the accessed portionof the memory array 470 (e.g., as determined by the row access logic 465and/or the column access logic 475). The indication may include anidentifier for the accessed portion (e.g., a row identifier, a columnidentifier, a row MAT identifier, a column MAT identifier). In oneexample, the accessed portion may correspond to a row MAT. In some otherexamples, the accessed portion may correspond to a row MAT and a columnMAT. In another example, the accessed portion may correspond to anintersection of a single word line and a single digit line (e.g., asingle memory cell).

The host device 405 may receive the command from the sideband pins 496.The host device 405 may use circuitry (e.g., a LUT) in order to map thecommand, transmitted to the memory device 410, to an expected portion ofthe memory array 470. The expected portion may include an expected rowMAT, an expected column MAT, or an expected array location (e.g., anexpected column MAT and/or an expected row MAT). The host device 405 maycompare the expected portion to the accessed portion indicated by thememory array 470. The host device 405 may determine an error in theevent that the expected portion does not correspond to the accessedportion indicated by the memory array 470. Here, the memory device 410may determine that the executed command may not have been executedproperly.

The host device 405 may receive information allowing the host device 405to determine errors such as the memory device 410 incorrectly decodingthe command, the memory device 410 failing to decode the command, or thememory device 410 accessing a portion of the memory array 470 that doesnot match a portion of the memory array 470 indicated by the commandfrom the host device 405. The host device 405 may determine toretransmit the command based on receiving the information. This mayallow the host device 405 to improve reliability of the memory device410 when compared to a memory device that does not provide such errorfeedback. In some cases, the host device 405 may transmit a stream ofcommands (e.g., multiple commands that are transmitted contiguously ornon-contiguously to each other) to the memory device 410. In thisexample, the memory device 410 may execute the transmitted commandsconcurrently to transmitting information allowing the host device 405 todetermine errors associated with one or more of the stream of commands.That is, normal memory operations may continue concurrently with sendinginformation from the memory device 410 to the host device 405 thatindicates decoding status for commands, decoded instructions, decodedaddresses, or accessed portions of the memory array 470. This may allowthe memory device 410 to provide additional information to the hostdevice 405 (e.g., information related to increasing reliability of thememory device 410) without significantly decreasing read/write speeds ofthe memory device.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a process flow 500 that supportstechniques for memory command verification for a memory device. Theprocess flow 500 may implement aspects of the systems 100, 300, and 400,and memory sub-array 200. The process flow 500 may include operationsperformed by a host 505, which may be an example of host devices 305 or405 as described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. Host device 505 mayimplement aspects of the external memory controller 105 as describedwith reference to FIG. 1; The process flow 500 may further includeoperations performed by a memory device 510, which may be an example ofthe memory device 110, the memory dice 160, or the memory sub-array 200as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, and may be examples ofmemory devices 310 and 410 as described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

At 515, the host device 505 may transmit a command to the memory device510.

At 520, the memory device 510 may decode the command. In some cases, thememory device 510 may further generate an identifier for the commandbased on decoding the command. The memory device 510 may decode thecommand at one or more decoders.

At 525, the memory device 510 may access a portion of the memory arrayof the memory device 510 in response to the command. Accessing theportion of the memory array may be based on decoding the command at 520.The memory device 510 may further generate an identifier of the portionof the memory array accessed in response to the command. The identifiermay be generated at the memory array. In some cases, the identifier mayinclude an identifier for one or more dimensions of the memory array(e.g., identifying a row MAT, a column MAT, and/or both). In someexamples, the identifier may include an indication of an MAT orsub-array of the memory array (e.g., identifying an intersection of arow MAT and a column MAT).

At 530, the memory device 510 may optionally verify the execution of thecommand. Here, the memory device 510 may decode the command receivedfrom the host device 505 at one or more verifiers. In some cases, thememory device 510 may compare the identifier of the portion of thememory array to the command to the command received from the host device505. In some other cases, the memory device may optionally compare theidentifier for the command (e.g., as determined at 520) to the commandreceived from the host device 505. In some cases, the command identifiermay be generated at one or more decoders of the memory device.

At 535, the memory device 510 may transmit signaling indicating theportion of the memory array accessed in response to the command. In somecases (e.g., in the case that the memory device 510 compares theidentifier of the portion of the memory array to the command receivedfrom the host device 505 at 530), the signaling indicating the portionof the memory array accessed in response to the command may be based onthe comparison. For example, the signaling may indicate that the portionof the memory array accessed is different than a portion of the memoryarray indicated by the identifier of the portion of the memory array.Additionally or alternatively, the signaling may indicate that theportion of the memory array accessed is the same as a portion of thememory indicated by the identifier of the portion of the memory array.The signaling may include an indication of the MAT or sub-array of thememory array accessed in response to the command.

In some examples (e.g., in the case that the memory device 510 comparesthe identifier determined at one or more decoders to the commandreceived from the host device 505 at 530), the signaling may be based onthe comparison. For example, the signaling may indicate that theidentifier determined at one or more decoders corresponds to a same typeof instruction as indicated by the command received from the host device505. In another example, the signaling may indicate that the identifierdetermined at one or more decoders corresponds to a different type ofinstruction than indicated by the command received from the host device505. Here, the signaling may indicate whether the command received atthe memory device 510 was executed correctly or incorrectly within thememory device 510 (e.g., whether the type of command determined at theone or more decoders is the same as the type of command indicated by thecommand received from the host device 505). In some instances, thesignaling may be based on a comparison of decodes (e.g., a decode at adecoder and a decode at a verifier).

In some cases, the host device 505 may transmit a second command to thememory device 510. The command and second command may be transmitted aspart of a sequence (e.g., contiguously or non-contiguously). In someexamples, sending the signaling at 535 may not disrupt a normalprocessing of the command and second command (e.g., the signaling at 535may be done concurrently with the normal processing). The memory device510 may transmit a second signaling to the host device 505 indicatingthat decoding of the second command failed to access the memory array.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a process flow 600 that supportstechniques for memory command verification for a memory device. Theprocess flow 600 may implement aspects of the systems 100, 300, and 400,memory sub-array 200, and process flow 500. The process flow 600 mayinclude operations performed by a host 605, which may be an example ofhost devices 305, 405, or 505 as described with reference to FIGS. 3through 5. Host device 605 may implement aspects of the external memorycontroller 105 as described with reference to FIG. 1; The process flow600 may further include operations performed by a memory device 610,which may be an example of the memory device 110, the memory dice 160,or the memory sub-array 200 as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and2, and may be examples of memory devices 310, 410, and 510 as describedwith reference to FIGS. 3 through 5.

At 615, the memory device 610 may receive a command from the host device605.

At 620, the memory device may optionally decode the command.

At 625, the memory device 610 may determine a portion of the memory thatis accessed based on the command received from the host device 605.Here, the memory device 610 may determine a MAT or sub-array of thememory array corresponding to the portion of the memory array accessedin response to the command. The memory device 610 may determine the MATor sub-array by determining a set of columns of the memory arraycorresponding to the portion of the memory array accessed in response tothe command. The memory device 610 may further determine a set of rowsof the memory array corresponding to the portion of the memory arrayaccessed in response to the command. Here, the MAT or sub-array may bebased on the set of columns and the set of rows. In some cases (e.g., inthe case that the memory device 610 decodes the command at 620), thememory device 610 may determine the portion of the memory that isaccessed based on decoding the command.

At 630, the memory device 610 may determine a status associated with thecommand based on the portion of the memory array that is accessed andthe command received at the memory device. Determining the statusassociated with the command may be based on the MAT or the sub-array ofthe memory array (e.g., as determined at 625). In some cases, the memorydevice 610 may determine the status by determining a location of thememory array intended to be accessed by the command sent by the hostdevice 605. The memory device 610 may compare the portion of the memoryarray accessed based on decoding the command to the location intended tobe accessed by the command. The status determined at 630 may be based onthe comparing the portion of the memory array accessed based on decodingthe command to the location intended to be accessed by the command.

In some cases, the memory device 610 may determine the status bydetermining, based on the command received from the host device 605, aninstruction for the access of the memory array. The memory device 620may further determine a type of access for the portion of the memoryarray accessed based at least in part on decoding the command. Thestatus determined at 630 may be based on the comparing the type ofaccess to the instruction.

At 635, the memory device 610 may transmit a signaling to the hostdevice 605 indicating the status associated with the command (e.g., asdetermined at 630). In a first example, the signaling indicates a statusrelated to the portion of the memory array accessed. In some cases, thememory device 610 may indicate an error for the command in thesignaling. The error may be based on determining a mismatch between theportion of the memory array accessed in response to the command and thelocation intended to be accessed by the command. In some other cases,the memory device 610 may transmit a confirmation for the command in thesignaling. The confirmation may be based on determining that the portionof the memory array accessed in response to the command matches thelocation intended to be accessed by the command.

In a second example (which may be in addition to or alternatively to thefirst example), the signaling indicates a status related to the type ofaccess. In some cases, the memory device 610 may transmit an error aspart of the signaling. The error may be based on determining a mismatchbetween the type of access and the instruction (e.g., at 630). In someother cases, the memory device 610 may transmit a confirmation for thecommand as part of the signaling. The confirmation may be based ondetermining that the type of access matches the instruction (e.g., at630).

In some cases, the memory device 610 may receive a second command fromthe host device 605. The memory device 610 may transmit, to the hostdevice 605, an indicator of a failure to decode the second command.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a process flow 700 that supportstechniques for memory command verification for a memory device. Theprocess flow 700 may implement aspects of the systems 100, 300, and 400,memory sub-array 200, and process flows 500 and 600. The process flow700 may include operations performed by a host 705, which may be anexample of host devices 305, 405, 505, or 605 as described withreference to FIGS. 3 through 6. Host device 705 may implement aspects ofthe external memory controller 105 as described with reference to FIG.1; The process flow 700 may further include operations performed by amemory device 710, which may be an example of the memory device 110, thememory array 170, or the memory sub-array 200 as described withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2, and may be examples of memory devices 310,410, 510, and 610 as described with reference to FIGS. 3 through 6.

At 715, the host device 705 may transmit, to the memory device 710, acommand to be executed on a memory array of the memory device 710.

At 720, the host device 705 may receive an indicator from the memorydevice 710. The indicator may be of a portion of the memory arrayaccessed by the memory device 710 in response to the command. In somecases, the indicator may further include an indicator of a type ofaccess for the portion of the memory array accessed by the memory device710.

At 725, the host device 705 may optionally determine informationindicating a status of execution for the command. The status may bebased on the portion of the memory array accessed in response to thecommand. The information may indicate a MAT or sub-array of the memoryarray accessed by the memory array in response to the command. In somecases, determining information indicating a status of the execution forthe command may include determining whether the portion of the memoryarray accessed by the memory device 710 is correct for the command. Insome cases, determining information indicating the status of executionfor the command may include the host device 705 determining whether thetype of access is correct for the command. For example, the host device705 may determine if the type of access command indicated by the memorydevice 710 is the same as the type of access command indicated by thecommand at 715.

At 730, the host device 705 may process one or more additional commandsfor the memory device based on the indicator. In some cases, the hostdevice 705 may process the one or more additional commands for thememory device 710 based on an indication of decoding error for a secondcommand. Here, the host device 705 may have transmitted, to the memorydevice 710, a second command to be executed on the memory array. Thehost device 705 may also receive, from the memory device 710, anindicator of a decoding error for the second command.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram 800 of a device 805 that supports memorycommand verification as disclosed herein. The device 805 may be anexample of aspects of a memory device such as memory device 110, memorydevice 310, memory device 510, or memory device 610 as disclosed hereinwith reference to FIGS. 1, 3, 5, and 6. The device 805 may include acommand receiver 810, a memory access manager 815, a host signalingmanager 820, a command decoding component 825, a comparison manager 830,and a verifier component 835. Each of these modules may communicate,directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

The command receiver 810 may receive a command from a host device at amemory device. In some examples, the command receiver 810 may receive asecond command from the host device.

The memory access manager 815 may access a portion of a memory array ofthe memory device in response to the command. In some examples, thememory access manager 815 may generate an identifier of the portion ofthe memory array accessed in response to the command. In some cases, theidentifier of the portion of the memory array accessed in response tothe command is generated at the memory array. In some cases, theidentifier of the portion of the memory array accessed in response tothe command includes an identifier for one or more dimensions of thememory array. In some cases, the identifier of the portion of the memoryarray accessed in response to the command includes an indication of aMAT or sub-array of the memory array.

The host signaling manager 820 may transmit signaling to the host devicethat indicates the portion of the memory array accessed in response tothe command. In some cases, the signaling that indicates the portion ofthe memory array accessed in response to the command includes anindication of a MAT or sub-array of the memory array. In some examples,the signaling transmitted to the host device is based on a comparison ofdecodes at the one or more decoders and the one or more verifiers. Insome examples, the host signaling manager 820 may transmit secondsignaling to the host device that indicates that decoding of the secondcommand failed to access the memory array.

The command decoding component 825 may decode the command at the memorydevice, where accessing the portion of the memory array is based ondecoding the command. In some examples, the command decoding component825 may generate an identifier for the command based on decoding thecommand at the memory device. In some cases, the identifier for thecommand is generated at one or more decoders of the memory device. Insome examples, the command decoding component 825 may decode the commandreceived from the host device at one or more decoders, where accessingthe portion of the memory array is based on decoding the command at theone or more decoders.

The comparison manager 830 may compare the identifier to the commandreceived from the host device, where the signaling that indicates theportion of the memory array accessed in response to the command is basedon the comparison. In some examples, the comparison manager 830 maycompare the identifier for the command to the command received from thehost device, where the signaling that indicates the portion of thememory array accessed in response to the command is based on thecomparison.

The verifier component 835 may decode the command received from the hostdevice at one or more verifiers.

The command receiver 810 may receive a command at a memory device. Insome examples, the command receiver 810 may receive a second commandfrom the host device at the memory device. In some examples, the commandreceiver 810 may receive a series of commands from the host device,where the series of commands includes the command.

The memory access manager 815 may determine a portion of a memory arraythat is accessed based on the command. In some examples, the memoryaccess manager 815 may determine a MAT or a sub-array of the memoryarray corresponding to the portion of the memory array accessed inresponse to the command. In some examples, the memory access manager 815may determine a set of columns of the memory array corresponding to theportion of the memory array accessed in response to the command. In someexamples, the memory access manager 815 may determine a set of rows ofthe memory array corresponding to the portion of the memory arrayaccessed in response to the command. In some examples, the memory accessmanager 815 may determine the MAT or the sub-array based on the set ofcolumns and the set of rows. In some examples, the memory access manager815 may access respective portions of the memory array in response tothe series of commands, where accessing at least one of the respectiveportions of the memory array occurs concurrently with determining thestatus.

The host signaling manager 820 may transmit signaling to a host devicethat indicates the status associated with the command. In some examples,the host signaling manager 820 may transmit, as at least part of thesignaling that indicates the status, an indication of an error for thecommand based on determining a mismatch between the portion of thememory array accessed in response to the command and the locationintended to be accessed by the command. In some examples, the hostsignaling manager 820 may transmit, as at least part of the signalingthat indicates the status, a confirmation for the command based ondetermining that the portion of the memory array accessed in response tothe command matches the location intended to be accessed by the command.In some examples, the host signaling manager 820 may transmit, as atleast part of the signaling that indicates the status, an errorindicator for the command based on determining a mismatch between thetype of access and the instruction. In some examples, the host signalingmanager 820 may transmit, as at least part of the signaling thatindicates the status, a confirmation for the command based ondetermining that the type of access matches the instruction. In someexamples, the host signaling manager 820 may transmit, to the hostdevice, an indicator of a failure to decode the second command. In somecases, the signaling transmitted to the host device includes a statusthat indicates whether the command received at the memory device wasexecuted correctly or incorrectly within the memory device.

The verifier component 835 may determine a status associated with thecommand based on the portion of the memory array that is accessed andthe command received at the memory device. In some examples, theverifier component 835 may determine the status based on comparing thetype of access to the instruction. In some examples, the verifiercomponent 835 may determine the status associated with the command basedon the MAT or the sub-array of the memory array.

The command decoding component 825 may decode the command, where theportion of the memory array is accessed based on the decoding thecommand. In some examples, the command decoding component 825 maydetermine a location of the memory array intended to be accessed by thecommand. In some examples, the command decoding component 825 maydetermine, based on the command received from the host device, aninstruction for the access of the memory array. In some examples, thecommand decoding component 825 may determine a type of access for theportion of the memory array accessed based on decoding the command.

The comparison manager 830 may compare the portion of the memory arrayaccessed based on decoding the command to the location intended to beaccessed by the command, where determining the status is based oncomparing the portion of the memory array accessed by the command to thelocation intended to be accessed by the command.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram 900 of a device 905 that supports memorycommand verification as disclosed herein. The device 905 may be anexample of aspects of a host device such as host device 405 or hostdevice 705 as disclosed herein with reference to FIGS. 4 and 7. Thedevice 905 may include a command transmitter 910, an indicator manager915, an additional command processor 920, and a status manager 925. Eachof these modules may communicate, directly or indirectly, with oneanother (e.g., via one or more buses).

The command transmitter 910 may transmit, to a memory device, a commandto be executed on a memory array of the memory device. In some examples,the command transmitter 910 may transmit, to the memory device, a secondcommand to be executed on the memory array.

The indicator manager 915 may receive, from the memory device, anindicator of a portion of the memory array accessed by the memory devicein response to the command. In some examples, the indicator manager 915may receive, from the memory device, an indicator of a type of accessfor the portion of the memory array accessed by the memory device. Insome examples, the indicator manager 915 may receive, from the memorydevice, an indicator of a decoding error for the second command.

The additional command processor 920 may process one or more additionalcommands for the memory device based on the indicator. In some examples,the additional command processor 920 may process the one or moreadditional commands for the memory device based on the indicator of thedecoding error.

The status manager 925 may determine, based on the portion of the memoryarray accessed in response to the command, information indicating astatus of execution for the command. In some cases, the informationindicates a MAT or sub-array of the memory array accessed by the memoryarray in response to the command. In some examples, the status manager925 may determine whether the portion of the memory array accessed bythe memory device is correct for the command, where determining theinformation is based on determining whether the portion of the memoryarray accessed by the memory device is correct for the command. In someexamples, the status manager 925 may determine whether the type ofaccess is correct for the command, where determining the information isbased on determining whether the type of access is correct.

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1000 that supportssystems, devices, and methods for memory command verification asdisclosed herein. The operations of method 1000 may be implemented by amemory device (e.g., memory device 110, memory device 310, memory device510, or memory device 610 as disclosed herein with reference to FIGS. 1,3, 5, and 6) or its components as described herein. In some examples, amemory device may execute a set of instructions to control thefunctional elements of the memory device to perform the functionsdescribed herein. Additionally or alternatively, a memory device mayperform aspects of the functions described herein using special-purposehardware.

At 1005, the memory device may receive a command from a host device at amemory device. The operations of 1005 may be performed according to themethods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1005 may be performed by a command receiver as described with referenceto FIG. 8.

At 1010, the memory device may access a portion of a memory array of thememory device in response to the command. The operations of 1010 may beperformed according to the methods described herein. In some examples,aspects of the operations of 1010 may be performed by a memory accessmanager as described with reference to FIG. 8.

At 1015, the memory device may transmit signaling to the host devicethat indicates the portion of the memory array accessed in response tothe command. The operations of 1015 may be performed according to themethods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1015 may be performed by a host signaling manager as described withreference to FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1100 that supportssystems, devices, and methods for memory command verification asdisclosed herein. The operations of method 1100 may be implemented by amemory device or its components as described herein. For example, theoperations of method 1100 may be performed by a memory device asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 1, 3, 4, and 6. In some examples, amemory device may execute a set of instructions to control thefunctional elements of the memory device to perform the functionsdescribed herein. Additionally or alternatively, a memory device mayperform aspects of the functions described herein using special-purposehardware.

At 1105, the memory device may receive a command from a host device at amemory device. The operations of 1105 may be performed according to themethods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1105 may be performed by a command receiver as described with referenceto FIG. 8.

At 1110, the memory device may decode the command at the memory device,where accessing the portion of the memory array is based on decoding thecommand. The operations of 1110 may be performed according to themethods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1110 may be performed by a command decoding component as described withreference to FIG. 8.

At 1115, the memory device may access a portion of a memory array of thememory device in response to the command. The operations of 1115 may beperformed according to the methods described herein. In some examples,aspects of the operations of 1115 may be performed by a memory accessmanager as described with reference to FIG. 8.

At 1120, the memory device may generate an identifier of the portion ofthe memory array accessed in response to the command. The operations of1120 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In someexamples, aspects of the operations of 1120 may be performed by a memoryaccess manager as described with reference to FIG. 8.

At 1125, the memory device may compare the identifier to the commandreceived from the host device, where the signaling that indicates theportion of the memory array accessed in response to the command is basedon the comparison. The operations of 1125 may be performed according tothe methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of theoperations of 1125 may be performed by a comparison manager as describedwith reference to FIG. 8.

At 1130, the memory device may transmit signaling to the host devicethat indicates the portion of the memory array accessed in response tothe command. The operations of 1130 may be performed according to themethods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1130 may be performed by a host signaling manager as described withreference to FIG. 8.

An apparatus for performing a method or methods, such as the method1100, is described. The apparatus may include means for include meansfor receiving a command from a host device at a memory device, accessinga portion of a memory array of the memory device in response to thecommand, and transmitting signaling to the host device that indicatesthe portion of the memory array accessed in response to the command.

In some examples, the apparatus may include features for decoding thecommand at the memory device, where accessing the portion of the memoryarray may be based on decoding the command, generating an identifier ofthe portion of the memory array accessed in response to the command andcomparing the identifier to the command received from the host device,where the signaling that indicates the portion of the memory arrayaccessed in response to the command may be based on the comparison.

In some cases, the identifier of the portion of the memory arrayaccessed in response to the command may be generated at the memoryarray. In some instances, the identifier of the portion of the memoryarray accessed in response to the command includes an identifier for oneor more dimensions of the memory array. In some examples, the identifierof the portion of the memory array accessed in response to the commandincludes an indication of a MAT or sub-array of the memory array.

In some examples, the apparatus may include features for generating anidentifier for the command based on decoding the command at the memorydevice and comparing the identifier for the command to the commandreceived from the host device, where the signaling that indicates theportion of the memory array accessed in response to the command may bebased on the comparison.

In some cases, the identifier for the command may be generated at one ormore decoders of the memory device.

In some examples, the apparatus may include features for decoding thecommand received from the host device at one or more decoders, whereaccessing the portion of the memory array may be based on decoding thecommand at the one or more decoders, decoding the command received fromthe host device at one or more verifiers, and where the signalingtransmitted to the host device may be based on a comparison of decodesat the one or more decoders and the one or more verifiers.

In some cases, the signaling transmitted to the host device includes astatus that indicates whether the command received at the memory devicewas executed correctly or incorrectly within the memory device.

In some instances, the signaling that indicates the portion of thememory array accessed in response to the command includes an indicationof a MAT or sub-array of the memory array.

In some examples, the apparatus may include features for receiving asecond command from the host device at the memory device andtransmitting second signaling to the host device that indicates thatdecoding of the second command failed to access the memory array.

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1200 that supportssystems, devices, and methods for memory command verification asdisclosed herein. The operations of method 1200 may be implemented by amemory device or its components as described herein. For example, theoperations of method 1200 may be performed by a memory device asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 1, 3, 5, and 6. In some examples, amemory device may execute a set of instructions to control thefunctional elements of the memory device to perform the functionsdescribed herein. Additionally or alternatively, a memory device mayperform aspects of the functions described herein using special-purposehardware.

At 1205, the memory device may receive a command at a memory device. Theoperations of 1205 may be performed according to the methods describedherein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1205 may beperformed by a command receiver as described with reference to FIG. 8.

At 1210, the memory device may determine a portion of a memory arraythat is accessed based on the command. The operations of 1210 may beperformed according to the methods described herein. In some examples,aspects of the operations of 1210 may be performed by a memory accessmanager as described with reference to FIG. 8.

At 1215, the memory device may determine a status associated with thecommand based on the portion of the memory array that is accessed andthe command received at the memory device. The operations of 1215 may beperformed according to the methods described herein. In some examples,aspects of the operations of 1215 may be performed by a verifiercomponent as described with reference to FIG. 8.

At 1220, the memory device may transmit signaling to a host device thatindicates the status associated with the command. The operations of 1220may be performed according to the methods described herein. In someexamples, aspects of the operations of 1220 may be performed by a hostsignaling manager as described with reference to FIG. 8.

An apparatus for performing a method or methods, such as the method1200, is described. The apparatus may include means for receiving acommand at a memory device, determining a portion of a memory array thatis accessed based on the command, determining a status associated withthe command based on the portion of the memory array that is accessedand the command received at the memory device, and transmittingsignaling to a host device that indicates the status associated with thecommand.

In some cases, the apparatus may include features for decoding thecommand, where the portion of the memory array may be accessed based onthe decoding the command.

In some examples, the apparatus may include features for determining alocation of the memory array intended to be accessed by the command andcomparing the portion of the memory array accessed based on decoding thecommand to the location intended to be accessed by the command, wheredetermining the status may be based on comparing the portion of thememory array accessed by the command to the location intended to beaccessed by the command.

In some instances, the apparatus may include features for transmitting,as at least part of the signaling that indicates the status, aconfirmation for the command based on determining that the portion ofthe memory array accessed in response to the command matches thelocation intended to be accessed by the command.

In some cases, the apparatus may include features for transmitting, asat least part of the signaling that indicates the status, a confirmationfor the command based on determining that the portion of the memoryarray accessed in response to the command matches the location intendedto be accessed by the command.

In some examples, the apparatus may include features for determining,based on the command received from the host device, an instruction forthe access of the memory array, determining a type of access for theportion of the memory array accessed based on decoding the command anddetermining the status based on comparing the type of access to theinstruction.

In some instances, the apparatus may include features for transmitting,as at least part of the signaling that indicates the status, an errorindicator for the command based on determining a mismatch between thetype of access and the instruction.

In some cases, the apparatus may include features for transmitting, asat least part of the signaling that indicates the status, a confirmationfor the command based on determining that the type of access matches theinstruction.

In some examples, the apparatus may include features for receiving asecond command from the host device and transmitting, to the hostdevice, an indicator of a failure to decode the second command.

In some instances, the apparatus may include features for determining aMAT or a sub-array of the memory array corresponding to the portion ofthe memory array accessed in response to the command and determining thestatus associated with the command based on the MAT or the sub-array ofthe memory array.

In some cases, the apparatus may include features for determining a setof columns of the memory array corresponding to the portion of thememory array accessed in response to the command, determining a set ofrows of the memory array corresponding to the portion of the memoryarray accessed in response to the command and determining the MAT or thesub-array based on the set of columns and the set of rows.

In some examples, the apparatus may include features for receiving aseries of commands from the host device, where the series of commandsincludes the command and accessing respective portions of the memoryarray in response to the series of commands, where accessing at leastone of the respective portions of the memory array occurs concurrentlywith determining the status.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1300 that supportssystems, devices, and methods for memory command verification asdisclosed herein. The operations of method 1300 may be implemented by ahost device or its components as described herein. For example, theoperations of method 1300 may be performed by a host device as describedwith reference to FIGS. 4 and 7. In some examples, a host device mayexecute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of thehost device to perform the functions described herein. Additionally oralternatively, a host device may perform aspects of the functionsdescribed herein using special-purpose hardware.

At 1305, the host device may transmit, to a memory device, a command tobe executed on a memory array of the memory device. The operations of1305 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In someexamples, aspects of the operations of 1305 may be performed by acommand transmitter as described with reference to FIG. 9.

At 1310, the host device may receive, from the memory device, anindicator of a portion of the memory array accessed by the memory devicein response to the command. The operations of 1310 may be performedaccording to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects ofthe operations of 1310 may be performed by an indicator manager asdescribed with reference to FIG. 9.

At 1315, the host device may process one or more additional commands forthe memory device based on the indicator. The operations of 1315 may beperformed according to the methods described herein. In some examples,aspects of the operations of 1315 may be performed by an additionalcommand processor as described with reference to FIG. 9.

An apparatus for performing a method or methods, such as the method1300, is described. The apparatus may include means for transmitting, toa memory device, a command to be executed on a memory array of thememory device, receiving, from the memory device, an indicator of aportion of the memory array accessed by the memory device in response tothe command, and processing one or more additional commands for thememory device based on the indicator.

In some examples, the apparatus may include features for determining,based on the portion of the memory array accessed in response to thecommand, information indicating a status of execution for the command.In some cases, the information indicates a MAT or sub-array of thememory array accessed by the memory array in response to the command.

In some instances the apparatus may include features for determiningwhether the portion of the memory array accessed by the memory devicemay be correct for the command, where determining the information may bebased on determining whether the portion of the memory array accessed bythe memory device may be correct for the command.

In some cases, the apparatus may include features for receiving, fromthe memory device, an indicator of a type of access for the portion ofthe memory array accessed by the memory device and determining whetherthe type of access may be correct for the command, where determining theinformation may be based on determining whether the type of access maybe correct.

In some examples, the apparatus may include features for transmitting,to the memory device, a second command to be executed on the memoryarray, receiving, from the memory device, an indicator of a decodingerror for the second command and processing the one or more additionalcommands for the memory device based on the indicator of the decodingerror.

It should be noted that the methods described above describe possibleimplementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearrangedor otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible.Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.

In some examples, an apparatus for memory command verification mayperform aspects of the functions described herein using general- orspecial-purpose hardware. The apparatus may include an interface coupledwith a host device and operable to receive a command from the hostdevice, a memory array coupled with the interface and operable toreceive the command and determine a portion of the memory array that isaccessed based on the command, and circuitry coupled with the memoryarray and operable to transmit, to the host device, signaling thatindicates the portion of the memory array accessed based on the command.

In some cases, the signaling that indicates the portion of the memoryarray accessed based on the command includes an indication of a MAT orsub-array of the memory array.

In some examples, the signaling that indicates the portion of the memoryarray accessed based on the command includes an identifier for one ormore dimensions of the memory array.

In some other examples, an apparatus for memory command verification mayperform aspects of the functions described herein using general- orspecial-purpose hardware. The apparatus may include an interface coupledwith a host device and operable to receive a command from the hostdevice, a decoder coupled with the interface and operable to obtain adecoded command for memory access based on the command, a memory arraycoupled with the decoder and operable to receive the decoded command anddetermine a portion of the memory array accessed by the decoded command,a verifier coupled with the interface and the memory array and operableto, receiving the command from the interface, determining a statusassociated with the memory access based on the indicator of the portionof the memory array accessed by the command and the command, andtransmitting an indicator of the status to the host device.

In some cases, the verifier may be operable to determine a location ofthe memory array intended to be accessed by the command and determinethe status based on comparing the portion of the memory array accessedby the decoded command to the location intended to be accessed by thecommand.

In some instances, the verifier may be operable to determine aninstruction for the access of the memory array according to the command,receive, from the memory array, a type of access for the portion of thememory array accessed in response to the decoded command and determinethe status based on comparing the type of access to the instruction.

In some examples, the decoder may be further operable to determine afailure to decode a second command, the second command received by theinterface from the host device and the verifier may be further operableto transmit, to the host device, an indicator of the failure to decodethe second command.

In some cases, the memory array may be further operable to determine aMAT or a sub-array of the memory array corresponding to the portion ofthe memory array accessed in response to the command and the verifiermay be further operable to determine the status associated with thecommand based on the MAT or the sub-array of the memory array.

Although certain features may be described herein with respect to or inthe context of DRAM technology, this is for illustrative purposes only,and one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the teachingsherein may be applied to any type of memory device. For example, theteachings herein may be applied to volatile or non-volatile memorydevices such as magnetic hard disks, random access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM(SDRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), resistive RAM(RRAM), flash memory, phase change memory (PCM), and others.

Information and signals described herein may be represented using any ofa variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data,instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chipsthat may be referenced throughout the above description may berepresented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magneticfields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combinationthereof. Some drawings may illustrate signals as a single signal;however, it will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the artthat the signal may represent a bus of signals, where the bus may have avariety of bit widths.

As used herein, the term “virtual ground” refers to a node of anelectrical circuit that is held at a voltage of approximately zero volts(0V) but that is not directly coupled with ground. Accordingly, thevoltage of a virtual ground may temporarily fluctuate and return toapproximately 0V at steady state. A virtual ground may be implementedusing various electronic circuit elements, such as a voltage dividerconsisting of operational amplifiers and resistors. Otherimplementations are also possible. “Virtual grounding” or “virtuallygrounded” means connected to approximately 0V.

The terms “electronic communication,” “conductive contact,” “connected,”and “coupled” may refer to a relationship between components thatsupports the flow of signals between the components. Components areconsidered in electronic communication with (or in conductive contactwith or connected with or coupled with) one another if there is anyconductive path between the components that can, at any time, supportthe flow of signals between the components. At any given time, theconductive path between components that are in electronic communicationwith each other (or in conductive contact with or connected with orcoupled with) may be an open circuit or a closed circuit based on theoperation of the device that includes the connected components. Theconductive path between connected components may be a direct conductivepath between the components or the conductive path between connectedcomponents may be an indirect conductive path that may includeintermediate components, such as switches, transistors, or othercomponents. In some cases, the flow of signals between the connectedcomponents may be interrupted for a time, for example, using one or moreintermediate components such as switches or transistors.

The term “coupling” refers to condition of moving from an open-circuitrelationship between components in which signals are not presentlycapable of being communicated between the components over a conductivepath to a closed-circuit relationship between components in whichsignals are capable of being communicated between components over theconductive path. When a component, such as a controller, couples othercomponents together, the component initiates a change that allowssignals to flow between the other components over a conductive path thatpreviously did not permit signals to flow.

The term “isolated” refers to a relationship between components in whichsignals are not presently capable of flowing between the components.Components are isolated from each other if there is an open circuitbetween them. For example, two components separated by a switch that ispositioned between the components are isolated from each other when theswitch is open. When a controller isolates two components, thecontroller affects a change that prevents signals from flowing betweenthe components using a conductive path that previously permitted signalsto flow.

The devices discussed herein, including a memory array, may be formed ona semiconductor substrate, such as silicon, germanium, silicon-germaniumalloy, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, etc. In some cases, thesubstrate is a semiconductor wafer. In other cases, the substrate may bea silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, such as silicon-on-glass (SOG)or silicon-on-sapphire (SOP), or epitaxial layers of semiconductormaterials on another substrate. The conductivity of the substrate, orsub-regions of the substrate, may be controlled through doping usingvarious chemical species including, but not limited to, phosphorous,boron, or arsenic. Doping may be performed during the initial formationor growth of the substrate, by ion-implantation, or by any other dopingmeans.

A switching component or a transistor discussed herein may represent afield-effect transistor (FET) and comprise a three terminal deviceincluding a source, drain, and gate. The terminals may be connected toother electronic elements through conductive materials, e.g., metals.The source and drain may be conductive and may comprise a heavily-doped,e.g., degenerate, semiconductor region. The source and drain may beseparated by a lightly-doped semiconductor region or channel. If thechannel is n-type (i.e., majority carriers are signals), then the FETmay be referred to as a n-type FET. If the channel is p-type (i.e.,majority carriers are holes), then the FET may be referred to as ap-type FET. The channel may be capped by an insulating gate oxide. Thechannel conductivity may be controlled by applying a voltage to thegate. For example, applying a positive voltage or negative voltage to ann-type FET or a p-type FET, respectively, may result in the channelbecoming conductive. A transistor may be “on” or “activated” when avoltage greater than or equal to the transistor's threshold voltage isapplied to the transistor gate. The transistor may be “off” or“deactivated” when a voltage less than the transistor's thresholdvoltage is applied to the transistor gate.

The description set forth herein, in connection with the appendeddrawings, describes example configurations and does not represent allthe examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of theclaims. The term “exemplary” used herein means “serving as an example,instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred” or “advantageous overother examples.” The detailed description includes specific details toproviding an understanding of the described techniques. Thesetechniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. Insome instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

In the appended figures, similar components or features may have thesame reference label. Further, various components of the same type maybe distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the firstreference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label.

Information and signals described herein may be represented using any ofa variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data,instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chipsthat may be referenced throughout the above description may berepresented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magneticfields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combinationthereof.

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection withthe disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with ageneral-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmablelogic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor,but in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller,microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implementedas a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP anda microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessorsin conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, softwareexecuted by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may bestored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are withinthe scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to thenature of software, functions described above can be implemented usingsoftware executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, orcombinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may alsobe physically located at various positions, including being distributedsuch that portions of functions are implemented at different physicallocations. Also, as used herein, including in the claims, “or” as usedin a list of items (for example, a list of items prefaced by a phrasesuch as “at least one of” or “one or more of”) indicates an inclusivelist such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C meansA or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, asused herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a referenceto a closed set of conditions. For example, an exemplary step that isdescribed as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition Aand a condition B without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shallbe construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in parton.”

The description herein is provided to enable a person skilled in the artto make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosurewill be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principlesdefined herein may be applied to other variations without departing fromthe scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to theexamples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded thebroadest scope consistent with the principles and novel featuresdisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving a command from ahost device at a memory device; accessing a portion of a memory array ofthe memory device in response to the command; and transmitting signalingto the host device that indicates the portion of the memory arrayaccessed in response to the command.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: decoding the command at the memory device, wherein accessingthe portion of the memory array is based at least in part on decodingthe command; generating an identifier of the portion of the memory arrayaccessed in response to the command; and comparing the identifier to thecommand received from the host device, wherein the signaling thatindicates the portion of the memory array accessed in response to thecommand is based at least in part on the comparison.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the identifier of the portion of the memory arrayaccessed in response to the command is generated at the memory array. 4.The method of claim 2, wherein the identifier of the portion of thememory array accessed in response to the command comprises an identifierfor one or more dimensions of the memory array.
 5. The method of claim2, wherein the identifier of the portion of the memory array accessed inresponse to the command comprises an indication of a matrix (MAT) orsub-array of the memory array.
 6. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: generating an identifier for the command based at least inpart on decoding the command at the memory device; and comparing theidentifier for the command to the command received from the host device,wherein the signaling that indicates the portion of the memory arrayaccessed in response to the command is based at least in part on thecomparison.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: decoding thecommand received from the host device at one or more decoders, whereinaccessing the portion of the memory array is based at least in part ondecoding the command at the one or more decoders; and decoding thecommand received from the host device at one or more verifiers, whereinthe signaling transmitted to the host device is based at least in parton a comparison of decodes at the one or more decoders and the one ormore verifiers.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the signalingtransmitted to the host device comprises a status that indicates whetherthe command received at the memory device was executed correctly orincorrectly within the memory device.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinthe signaling that indicates the portion of the memory array accessed inresponse to the command comprises an indication of a matrix (MAT) orsub-array of the memory array.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving a second command from the host device at thememory device; and transmitting second signaling to the host device thatindicates that decoding of the second command failed to access thememory array.
 11. A method, comprising: receiving a command at a memorydevice; determining a portion of a memory array that is accessed basedat least in part on the command; determining a status associated withthe command based at least in part on the portion of the memory arraythat is accessed and the command received at the memory device; andtransmitting signaling to a host device that indicates the statusassociated with the command.
 12. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: decoding the command, wherein the portion of the memoryarray is accessed based at least in part on the decoding the command.13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: determining a locationof the memory array intended to be accessed by the command; andcomparing the portion of the memory array accessed based at least inpart on decoding the command to the location intended to be accessed bythe command, wherein determining the status is based at least in part oncomparing the portion of the memory array accessed by the command to thelocation intended to be accessed by the command.
 14. The method of claim13, further comprising: transmitting, as at least part of the signalingthat indicates the status, an indication of an error for the command ora confirmation for the command.
 15. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising: determining, based at least in part on the command receivedfrom the host device, an instruction for the access of the memory array;determining a type of access for the portion of the memory arrayaccessed based at least in part on decoding the command; and determiningthe status based at least in part on comparing the type of access to theinstruction.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:transmitting, as at least part of the signaling that indicates thestatus, an error indicator for the command or a confirmation for thecommand.
 17. The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving asecond command from the host device; and transmitting, to the hostdevice, an indicator of a failure to decode the second command.
 18. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising: determining a matrix (MAT) or asub-array of the memory array corresponding to the portion of the memoryarray accessed in response to the command; and determining the statusassociated with the command based at least in part on the MAT or thesub-array of the memory array.
 19. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: receiving a series of commands from the host device, whereinthe series of commands comprises the command; and accessing respectiveportions of the memory array in response to the series of commands,wherein accessing at least one of the respective portions of the memoryarray occurs concurrently with determining the status.
 20. A method,comprising: transmitting, to a memory device, a command to be executedon a memory array of the memory device; receiving, from the memorydevice, an indicator of a portion of the memory array accessed by thememory device in response to the command; and processing one or moreadditional commands for the memory device based at least in part on theindicator.
 21. The method of claim 20, further comprising: determining,based at least in part on the portion of the memory array accessed inresponse to the command, information indicating a status of executionfor the command.
 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:determining whether the portion of the memory array accessed by thememory device is correct for the command, wherein determining theinformation is based at least in part on determining whether the portionof the memory array accessed by the memory device is correct for thecommand.
 23. The method of claim 21, further comprising: receiving, fromthe memory device, an indicator of a type of access for the portion ofthe memory array accessed by the memory device; and determining whetherthe type of access is correct for the command, wherein determining theinformation is based at least in part on determining whether the type ofaccess is correct.
 24. The method of claim 21, further comprising:transmitting, to the memory device, a second command to be executed onthe memory array; receiving, from the memory device, an indicator of adecoding error for the second command; and processing the one or moreadditional commands for the memory device based at least in part on theindicator of the decoding error.
 25. A device, comprising: an interfacecoupled with a host device and operable to receive a command from thehost device; a memory array coupled with the interface and operable to;receive the command; determine a portion of the memory array that isaccessed based at least in part on the command; and circuitry coupledwith the memory array and operable to transmit, to the host device,signaling that indicates the portion of the memory array accessed basedat least in part on the command.